Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon lawmakers are considering several measures aimed at stopping an upcoming deployment of the Oregon National Guard to Iraq. 

More than 3000 citizen soldiers are scheduled to leave Oregon this summer.  It comes at a time when opponents of the war are hoping to speed up the withdrawal of the U.S. from Iraq.

But in Salem, the action most likely to gain approval appears to be little more than a polite letter to Congress. Salem correspondent Chris Lehman reports.

The Oregon Legislature is considering at least four items related to the Oregon National Guard's deployment. 

Activists at the Oregon capitol urge visitors to sign a petition against an upcoming deployment of the Oregon National Guard.

One of those items is a bill to effectively prohibit the state from sending its Guard members to Iraq.  The other three are resolutions and memorials, which are non-binding statements of opinion.

The distinction isn't lost on activist Michelle Darr.  She's about a month into a hunger strike in front of the state capitol to protest the upcoming deployment. 

Michelle Darr:  "The resolutions are mainly symbolic.  The House bill has actually got the teeth to give the Governor the power that he needs, the political backing."

But it's not clear if the bill actually would give the Governor any power. 

A spokesman for Kulongoski says the Governor may be the Guard's Commander-in-Chief, but he still has no authority to stop the deployment in any circumstance. 

Even the bill's sponsor, Portland Democratic Representative Chip Shields, thinks it may be too late to keep the troops at home this time.  Speaking just off the floor of the House, he said passing the bill would force the issue into the courts.

Rep. Chip Shields:  "What we're trying to do is really to hold the President and Congress' feet to the fire, that we are keenly interested in a relatively quick redeployment and that we shouldn't get bogged down for another three, four, five, six years in Afghanistan and Iraq."

The concept of getting more control of the Guard has some Republican support too. But it's not clear an actual bill has enough votes to make it though the Legislature. 

House Speaker, Democrat Dave Hunt, was cool to the idea of going as far as anti-war lawmakers want.

Dave Hunt:  "I think our focus at the end of the day will be on passing a memorial, calling on Congress to take actions to end the war and bring the troops home."

That's pretty much what Oregon lawmakers did in 2007.

Online:

House Bill 2556

House Resolution 4

House Joint Memorial 5

Senate Resolution 1